CAPS Rank-and-File Bargaining. As mentioned in the CAPS Supervisors’ Update on June 18, agreements that the CAPS Bargaining Team reach do not apply to excluded employees, State Scientific Supervisors and Managers, in the same way. Many times benefits that Rank-and-File bargain for are extended to their Supervisory and Managerial counterparts, but not all the time and, sometimes, not at the same rates. That said, as a Unit, we support each other and understand that CAPS is stronger as a unified membership.

We bring both this differentiation and this need for unity forth, especially now, due to the COVID-19 Recession. Many of you have been following the budgetary information that has been released since May, where the Governor stated that he would be requesting all Bargaining Units “come to the table” to discuss so-called “creative options” for reducing employee compensation by 10%. Our Rank-and-File Bargaining Team came to agreement yesterday morning – you may have already seen the side letter agreement. In case you have not, you can read it here.

Your CAPS Supervisory Director, Scott Bauer, reached out to CalHR for a Meet-and-Confer shortly after the Governor announced his plan (as described in our last Supervisor’s Update, this is how excluded employees “come to the table” with the Administration). CalHR has not been clear surrounding whether the agreement reached by the Unit 10 Rank-and-File will apply to excluded employees, but excluded employees are slated to be subject to the employee compensation reductions. As such, your Supervisors Committee is meeting with CalHR early next week to ensure that at the very minimum Unit 10 Supervisors and Managers are allowed the same considerations as our Rank-and-File counterparts during this economic crisis.

Any information the Supervisors Committee receives from CalHR will be shared with the Supervisory membership. Stay tuned.

Thank you for your commitment to the union – Choose Unity, Choose Strength, Choose CAPS!

News Briefs

Judge Halts California Bid for Cancer Warning on Roundup – A federal judge on Monday permanently barred the state of California from requiring Monsanto and other chemical companies to put cancer warning labels on the glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.

A first: Majority of shareholders, including CalPERS, push oil giant Chevron to align with Paris climate pact – BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with some $7 trillion under watch, did push for an independent chair at Exxon, voted against two directors and publicly called out the oil concern for a too-slow response with climate goals.  The largest U.S. pension fund, California Public Employees Retirement System or CalPERS, also voted against two ExxonMobil directors and publicly declared its concern with the board’s failure to disclose greenhouse gas emissions across the company’s full value chain.